It quickly emerged as a go-to resource for green-minded developers as LEED grew to dominate the certification market. In Portland, GBS consulted on almost all the groundbreaking projects that earned the area’s first LEED plaques.

Today, GBS employs 30 and has a global reach. Its recent projects have taken it to 24 states and 19 countries.

GBS began as a LEED consultant on new construction and redevelopment projects. In the past year, it has reorganized and now wants to make all buildings more efficient by offering technical support and training to help existing building owners green their buildings.

Targeting existing buildings offers the biggest opportunity to have an impact, DiNola said. Existing commercial buildings consume an estimated 40 percent of energy used in the U.S.

Ralph DiNola, one of four principals, said GBS reorganized after recognizing it wanted to do more than help developers secure the coveted glass “LEED” plaques for their buildings.

“Working one building at a time is not going to bring about the change that needs to happen. We have decided we would like to have more impact,” he said.

Nevertheless, its roots remain firmly planted in the LEED universe.

More than 12,600 buildings have won LEED certification, with 320 in Oregon alone, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. GBS consultants played a role in more than 5 percent of all global projects, making LEED a sizeable source of business.

More than 80 percent of its business comes from referrals and repeat business and training agreements with current customers.

In Oregon, GBS’s fingerprints are on numerous local projects. The Oregon Convention Center expansion and the newly opened Bud Clark Commons at Union Station are prominent examples. Globally, its largest undertaking is a 77-acre, 110-building Msheireb Downtown Doha project in Doha, Qatar.

The company doesn’t disclose revenue.

Its strategy targets organizations that own and operate large real estate portfolios such as school campuses, corporate parks, convention centers, sports stadiums and retail chains.

“If you can reduce energy use in a store by 20 percent and repeat it 500 times, that’s how you get impact,” he said.

More than LEED

LEED was the green building industry’s “gateway” to widespread acceptance by owners and operators of both public and private facilities.

Before 2000, there was no widely accepted third-party verification system to confirm green claims. Its success inspired even more ambitious rating systems, including the Living Building Challenge –– an advocacy group and certification process for green buildings operated by the International Living Future Institute.

DiNola said the firm embraces the new generation of ratings systems other than LEED. It is certified to work on Energy Star and the American Institute of Architects’ 2030 Challenge. But LEED remains its bedrock. Federal, state and local governments have adopted it as a minimum standard for public buildings, ensuring its market dominance. The city of Portland has long required that its projects comply with LEED status.

DiNola said outside verification will continue to shape its business as private corporations increasingly turn to LEED or other rating systems to support social responsibility policies.

Convention business

GBS is a long-time consultant to the Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., now girding itself for its third LEED campaign.

Portland’s massive meeting hall scored its first LEED award in 2004 when it qualified for an Existing Building award on the eve of hosting the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual convention.

It renewed in 2008 and faces a second renewal this year. GBS is helping guide it through the process, which includes assessing how well it operates.

Brittin Witzenburg, sustainability manager, is eager to raise the center’s green credentials. It qualified at the silver level in its last round. Now, she’s gunning for the higher platinum rating.

“GBS is doing great things for the convention industry,” Witzenburg said.

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